Feelings
by kataang93
Summary: Aang and Katra have no idea that their feelings for each other are shared. Sokka dreams of Suki. Much better inside. Fluffy, drabbly, adventurey goodness! Rated T for Safety. Now officially finished, and I spellchecked chapter 4. Yay fluff!
1. Chapter 1

WARNING

(little radioactive sign)

CONTAINS MORE FLUFF THAN TWO SHEDDING BUNNIES HAVING A PILLOW FIGHT IN A COTTON BALL FACTORY!

You have been warned...

Side 1 of Zach's personality:

Yay! I love fluff.

Side 2:

Ahh, forget love, let's just kick some Firebender butts!

Side 1:

_(slaps Side 2)_ YOU _DIDN'T MEAN THAT_. (_twitches)_

Chapter 1

God, she was beautiful. Every time she so much as Waterbended the dampness out of her hair after taking a swim, actually, at any point in time he wasn't daydreaming or Bending, Aang was staring at Katara. He sat, high in the trees, on a protruding branch, reasoning with himself over his deep infatuation with her. The moon shone brightly that night, though veiled by a wispy cape of cloud. He sighed. There was no way she could feel the same for him. Besides, he couldn't let a crush get in the way of his duties, and his destiny. He shivered. Or could he...? He knew then that it would be no use trying to shake off his feelings, especially that one he got whenever she looked at him face-to-face: warm, toasty, like being filled to the brim with hot, sweet Jasmine tea, that seemed to put pressure on his heart, shoulders, and entire chest at once, along with that funny sensation one gets when jumping off a high cliff into water below; fluttery, dizzy, all intertwining to create a very enjoyable sensation. Was it love? How could he tell? He was just a thirteen-year-old kid, he knew nothing about love. Or did he? But what else could it be?

"Aang?" A soft voice called through the trees, some twenty yards away. He was jerked out of his reverie by the sound of his most beloved friend. His most cherished voice. The very sound made his heart flutter and almost made him pass out from breathing so quickly. "Aang? What are you doing out so late? I saw you weren't in your bag, so set out to look for you. Aang?" He still had not responded. Katara nimbly swung herself through the branches to sit by the little Airbender. Or was he so little anymore? Just four months ago, when they had met, and Katara had pulled him out of the iceberg, he had been ever happy-go-lucky, always trotting about and amusing everybody, curious, and quick to both wit and humour. Now her best friend was amazingly secluded and recluse-like, hiding away at night much more often than expected of one in his place. She understood meditating alone every now and again, just to shake off the stress of being the Avatar, but he was starting to scare her. True, he was practicing harder than ever, and had gained a full three inches on her, to rest about one inch below her, and was becoming more muscled, thinner, and had gained endurance. Her friend was growing up too fast, and she wanted to stop it. She had not been so oblivious to his obsessive stares as Sokka and Toph liked to tell her. In fact, she had caught herself staring back just the other day...

"Yes, Katara?" Now it was her turn to be jerked out of silent thought as he finally noticed her presence. She looked over at him, not a foot away on the branch, staring at the stars.

"I've been worried about you lately, Aang. What's bothering you? You've been sneaking off much too often as of late. I won't let you go until you tell me what's bothering you. I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. We have _all _been through too much together to keep secrets." She paused, and waited, as Aang's eyebrows furrowed. Just as she was about to repeat the question, much more forcibly, he replied, in a hoarse voice.

"It's just that, lately, there's been so much going on, I don't know what to do. Appa has been captured, we're always fighting with Azula and Ty-Lee and Mae, and I just want it to all be peaceful again. I don't want to be the Avatar. I wish I was just a normal kid, with a normal life, Bending with the Monks, and staying with friends, without having to constantly be putting them in danger. I just wish it would all stop. I wanna be normal." He pulled his legs up tighter against his body. At this, Katara's eyes glistened, and she felt as if she would burst into tears, as the monk looked ready to do. But she wiped her eyes, and grabbed his jaw with one hand, turning him to face her.

"Aang. I know how you're feeling right now - I'd be overwhelmed too. But there's one thing you should know. I _never _want to hear you say you wished you weren't the Avatar ever again. You've helped so many people, saved so many leaves, and held peace, all of your own free will. You should be proud of yourself. Plus, being the Avatar doesn't mean you can't still have friends that are caring for you, and love you. And if you weren't the Avatar, I never would have found you in that iceberg, you wouldn't have been in it at all, and I would never have met you. I care too much for you to see you depressed."

Aang seemed to sigh, then suddenly pulled Katara into a warm embrace. He shifted slightly, pulling away, and added, in barely more than a whisper, "You're right. And another thing if I wasn't the Avatar: " She shifted uncomfortably on the branch. _"I _would never have met _you_." He smiled, and slipped off the branch. She jumped off after him, and they both lightly walked back to the camp, Aang now smiling but still looking slightly occupied. Katara didn't notice. She slipped back into her bag, and fell asleep staring at the Airbender as he curled up in his own bag, a happy grin on his face that she had not seen for many weeks, to match her own.

Aaaah, fluffy goodness. Dunn'it make you just wanna sit on the couch and watch every episode of Avatar with romance in it while eating raw cookie dough? I sure want to after writing it.

Rate and review please! Go easy, this is my first fanfic, and I've never written fluff before. And yes, I _am _a guy. And I'm not ashamed to admit I like fluff.

GO KATAANG! Up in next chapter: more fluff, and some action to go with it!


	2. Chapter 2

STILL SO MUCH FLUFF YOU COULD MAKE A CUSHY BED FOR APPA!

Side 1:

Okay, just to humor you, I'll add some drama and action into the mix this time. But there will still be fluff…… Heh, fluff. That's a funny word.

Side 2:

Just as long as it's not _too gushy_, I'll be fine….. Hey, what are you doing? Aaaarghhh!

_chokes_

Side 1:

_Looks for discreet place to hide Side Two's body_

Chapter 2

Sokka awoke from a, well, _detailed _dream about Suki, and stared about himself. Everybody else was still in their bags. _Wow_, he thought to himself. He usually awoke two to three hours after everybody else, receiving a hearty slap in the face from Katara for snoozing while everyone else toiled to pick up camp. Now he would clear up everything before they even stirred, and would rub it in her face. That would teach her that he wasn't _always _worthless. He stretched, and walked over to the smouldering remains of the campfire, and extinguished them with a handful of sand, scooping them up and burying them to leave no trace behind for Azula to track.

Toph stirred in her sleep. She was feeling the vibrations from Sokka lumbering around camp, and her senses of sight by vibration integrated themselves into her dream. A Fire Nation soldier was stumping towards their half-circle of sleeping bags, a churlish grin on his face as he summoned flames to leap from his hand, and bent towards the sleeping figure of Aang…

"Watch it!" She had awoken with a screech, and had apparently Earthbended a large boulder towards the soldier in her dream. "What just happened?" she asked shakily.

"Well," started Sokka despondently, "you must've had a bad dream or something, because you leapt up all of a sudden and nearly crushed Katara when you threw that huge rock over in the direction of her and Aang's sleeping bags." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah" she mumbled. "Just a bad dream." She now noticed, well, _felt, _that Aang and Katra were both still sound asleep, for there were so few vibrations coming from their direction that she could hardly distinguish them from the earth.

"I can't believe they're both still asleep after that." Sokka was turning from his work to glance over at his sister and the Airbender. "Usually they only sleep in like that if they've been up all night fighting or something. And they're usually are awake a few hours before me, even a few hours before you. And they would have woken us if there was trouble…" A strange look like that of comprehension began to spread over Sokka's face, and would have ran over to the pair and shaken them awake, yelling, if Toph had not just then covered his mouth and restrained him. She really was strong.

"Get those ideas out of your head, Snoozles," she said with a slightly offended tone. "It's fine, I heard them talking in the forest last night, about Aang's feelings. Nothing big. Just a quick hug. Plus, you've just gotta get used to the fact that they like each other. Don't worry. They'd never get past a little makeout, they know their places, their age, and their duties, and wouldn't do anything stupid. Calm down."

Aang was stirring in his bundle, and Katara was starting to groggily get out of her bag. "Act normal, now, or I might just have another dream and nearly knock _your _skull in," she hissed. This shut up the warrior for the rest of the day, and he dared not get on the topic of Katara and Aang with her again. Sokka was just returning from a bush with his usual pitiful supply of strange nuts, and was trying to find a way to render them edible, when Katra and Aang, both fully awake now, went to join Toph, who was sitting with her back against Appa and using her Bending to crack the nuts between slabs of stone, masterfully leaving nothing but the meats left, shooting the shells away along with the rock. "Hey, Twinkle Toes, Sugar Queen." She grinned. The group had finally submitted to her strange nicknames for them, and now answered to them just as quickly as their real names.

"Hey," said Katara. She grinned at Toph and Aang when Sokka's back was turned, probably searching for something made of meat to down with his boomerang, and she giggled as she slipped many more nuts and berries from inside her pouch to join Sokka's meager amount. This had been their little game for weeks now, enlarging the amount of food Sokka had procured, and sniggering at the way he boasted of his work when they "admired" the great amount of food he had brought. He was so stuck up, Katara once managed to add three fish to his stockpile, and he boasted about them without even looking to see what the group had commented on, as if he couldn't remember how much he had gathered, and was open to any possibilities of himself having caught enough food to supply them for a few days. Katara then began to mix up a porridge with the nuts, berries, and some rice she had found growing by the riverbank over a fresh fire made artfully by Aang, after the group shouted their daily "compliments" to Sokka, who was now far off into the woods.

Aang, as usual, was using his free time, as he always did, to stare at Katara and daydream. When she cooked, healed them, or did just about anything else with the group, she was motherly, caring, and by Aang's standards, even more enrapturing than usual. Toph thoughtfully made no comment of Aang's distant look, nor of the fact that when Katara passed him his breakfast, he lost his balance and fell face-forward into the sweet, mushy concoction as he turned rapidly on his knees to stare the better at Katara as she gave Toph her meal, then went off into the woods in search of Sokka. Toph chuckled lightly to herself. She normally gave no thought to the idea of love, but Twinkle Toes and Sugar Queen looked so cute together. She wouldn't let her mischievous nature get in the way of the inevitable between her two best friends. Aang, absentmindedly picking balls of goo off of his face, was once again staring off into space. He sighed, then both he and Toph jumped to their feet as a scream and scuffling, followed by a quickly stifled shout from Sokka, echoed through the valley.


	3. Chapter 3

FLUFF! MWUHAHAHAHARGH!

HUGE FLYING BALLS OF FLUFF!

_side 1 is now running from the law_

_but he still likes fluff_

Chapter 3

Aang and Toph crashed through the trees, Airbending and Earthbending anything and everything out of the way, the faster to get to their friends. Another scream seemed to bounce off all of the trees. Aang looked over at Toph as they ran. Her eyebrows were knitted in concentration. It was obviously hard to "see" the way she did while running at such speeds. Follwoing the sounds of battle, the pair finally came out into an open clearing in the forest, and saw Katara and Sokka's peril. They were encricled by seven Fire Nation soldiers, and were slowly backing against a crevace in a wall of rock on the side of a small gully. Three other soldiers lay some ten yards away, looking badly beat and bruised, and to add to that, unconscious. It always amazed Aang how Katara had mastered Waterbending so quickly, and how Sokka managed to fight without Bending. Aang stood transfixed for a moment, wondering where on Earth Zuko was in all the mess. But he was nowhere to be seen.

"Aang, Toph! Help!" He was broken out of his stupor, and turned to face the soldiers. It was apparent that they had luckily caught Katara at a time when she was without water, as there was no river nearby and her skin was empty. Toph bellowed out an oath, and the soldiers turned about in surprise, not having seen the pair jump into the area, clearly too gleeful that they had captured friends of the Avatar to notice their presence until then. Before any of the soldiers could move, Aang swept his staff underhand through the air, lifting two of the men high on a cushion of air to be slammed against the treetops. Toph, with an almost bored flick of her wrist, deposited three of the others into a deep trench, and the remaining two suddenly lunged for Sokka, but one was hit in the small of his back by a rock sent whizzing his way by Toph, and keeled over. Sokka took advantage of the other's momentary pause to rap him on the top of his helmet with the dull side of his sword. The man fell flat on his back, his helmet tumbling off his head and hitting a rock with a dull clanging sound. Aang and Toph turned now to their friends. Sokka was immediately taken up with bombarding his sister with "Are you okay?"s, and was too involved in confirming her safety to notice that she wasn't even looking at him. She had fallen into a hug with Aang.

"Thank God you came! I didn't have any water to bend, and Sokka didn't have his boomerang. They would have captured us if you and Toph hadn't gotten here so fast. Thank you." She said these last words quietly, and looked up into the Airbender's face.

"That's what friends are for." he mumbled, somewhat awkwardly. She was so close. "What else could I do? It's not like I've ever not been there to save you guys before. I brought you all into this mess, remember that. I could never let anything bad happen to any of you." Though he said this, he enjoyed the moment just the same. He and Katara must have stared at one another for a long time, because Sokka finally realised his sister was not talikng to him, and looked over, seeing her and Aang's matching blushes.

"Ooooh! Soomebody's in looove..." This granted him a sharp whack on the head from Toph, who hissed angrily.

"Shut it, Snoozles!" Toph reminded herself to give him another good kick when they got back to camp. That guy managed to ruin almost every moment Aang and Katara had. She turned, and was about to openly force Sokka to apologize, but stopped with her jaw halfway open. The pair wasn't paying an ounce of attention to the other two. They were still locked in each other's eyes, blushing furiously, but still taking advantage of that moment when their stares finally met. Toph grinned to herself once more, and quietly dragged Sokka away from the pair. When she got to the camp, she gave him a sharp kick, and settled herself down to finding some food. Neither she nor Sokka could cook, but they were both always hungry, about the only trait they shared, so she found some dried meat, and tossed Sokka a slice. He fell into it savagely, and Toph thanked God that hunger was the only trait she shared with the thoughtless warrior.

_back at the clearing_

The two kids were still staring at each other, having pulled away from the hug, but still blushing and staring furiously. Aang felt that unmistakable feeling again. Deep in their own thoughts, each was wondering the same thing. _Does he have the same feeligns for me as I have for him? _Katara smiled at her best friend's daydreamy expression. _God, after all these long months, there's finally a good scene in which to tell him how I feel. I just hope he loves me back._

A few footsteps away, Aang was lost in his own thougths and the beauty of his best friend. _What if she doesn't like me back? What if my feeling is wrong? _The two stopped ataring, regaining their normal composures, all except for their blushes, which still accented Katara's tanned, dark comlexion perfectly, and shone brilliantly on Aang's less tanned, somewhat pale face. They both began at the same time.

"Aang, I've known you for so long, and throughout these few months, and I think I've found that I like you. More than just as a friend."

"Uuuh, Katra, I've been wanting to talk to you about something for a long time. Ever since we met, you've been by my side through..."

Their words intertwined to create an unintelligable mess. Aang forced a small laugh, and Katara stepped closer to him He gave a little gasp then a contended sigh when she hugged him again.

"You go first." Aang smiled, and opened his mouth to speak. But he had barely begun to say the first syllable when he spotted a glint as if of metal in the trees behind Katara. "Just a sec." He gently moved her out of the way of any harm, and took a step between two gnarled old oaks. Suddennly, what turned out to be a Fire Nation helmet glinted again, and it's wearer quickly muffled Aang's mouth then put a bag over his head, nimbly snatching the young Airbender from the clearing. Katara jumped forward, and tried to grasp his arm as he sliped away, writhing in his captor's arms, but he was lost amidst a sea of trees. She tore after the one she loved.

"Aang!"

Aaah, you like the suspense, don't you? Don't worry, our favourite bald Airbender gets out of it alive. You'll just have to wait and find out how. Chapter 4 coming up later tonight! FLUFF!


	4. Chapter 4

FLUFF, fluff, FLUFF, fluff,

Flu-flu-flu-fluuuh-flu-fluuuffffff,

FLUFF!

_side 1 is trying to convert all of mankind into Kataang lovers_

_I hope he succeeds_

_Ooh, yah, he also reminds me to say that I don't own Avatar, for the first time on my fics_

_Though, if I did own it, there would have been 6 or 7 Kataang kiss and fluff scenes before now_

Chapter 4

Katara dashed through the trees. She could hear muffled yelps coming from up ahead, but they were growing more and more faint. She was starting to panic, something that she rarely did. Aang, the Avatar, the love of her life, was really and truly in danger now. Having refilled her skin at a small spring while she was talking with Aang, she now sliced her way through the brush. She burst suddenly out of the woods, and beheld before her open coastline. Looming, like giant shadows before her, were two Fire Nation ships. Azula was running up the gangplank of one, the struggling Avatar in her hands. Katara stopped short. Rage bubbled up inside her. This ruthless princess was about to steal away the only one who cared for her even more than her own brother, her best friend, and the only one she loved. Katara raised her hands, meaning to overturn the ship, but in her wrath she did what only Avatar level Waterbenders had been able to do before. She found that she was not controlling the water around the ships, but the water that happened to make up 69 of Azula's, and every other human's body. The princess froze where she was, about halfway into the ship, the Avatar continuing to writhe and kick as hard as he could. When she found herself being pulled by an unexplainable force towards the beach, she turned her head, and found the young Waterbender, with a look of fury upon her face, arms raised and fingertips red with strain, the cause of this undesirable effect. Azula then found that she had lost control over her own body. Aang gave one final kick and was sprung from her grasp. Katara slammed Azula against the trunk of a tree, the fire princess' body going limp, and she then grabbed the Airbender tenderly, and pulled off the bag from his head and cut his bonds. His face flushed, Aang looked up at his savior.

"Katara. Thank you."

"Not now." The pair dashed together back into the forest. They ran on until they came back to the camp. Toph was running about, tears staining her face, mixing with the characteristic dust that covered her entire body to create streaks of mud that ran down her neck. Sokka, his voice hoarse and cracking like a twelve-year old's, came tearing back to the camp out of the forest.

"I can't find them any..." His voice then broke completely at the sight of Aang and Katara. "You're okay!" Toph spun around, and joined him in his dash to his two friends. Toph dived at the pair, and gave them both a ferocious bear hug, crying the whole time.

"Quiet down." Katara pulled away from her brother, who had bombarded her with questions and then hugged her, then turned his attention to Aang, whom he gave a huge pat on his bald head, and also pulled into a hug. "Azula and other Fire Nation soldiers are at the beach just a few hundred yards from here. Azula caught Aang and started to slip away with him, while we were talking again in the woods. They're all probably just now finding her - I think I knocked her out. We have to get out of here. Now."

The group scattered, hastily quenching their small fire, rolling up their sleeping bags, and tossing all onto Appa's back. The entire gang hurled themselves into the giant saddle, and with a cry of "Yip, yip!" from Toph, the giant flying bison shot gracefully into the air.

Aang now walked up to Katara. He sat down beside her on the edge of the saddle, and thanked her again for saving him.

"I've told you before Aang. I'd do anything for you."

"And I for you." He moved closer to her. He felt himself blushing, and felt the familiar sensation, warmth spreading to the tips of his fingers and toes, and a fluttery feeling in his chest. "Katara?"

"Yes?"

"I have something I'd like to talk to you about."

"What's that?" Though he didn't know it, she was blushing too now. _This might be it, _she thought to herself. _When he finally tells me how he feels._

"Well, I think you should know, that through all of our adventures together, ever since you pulled me out of the iceberg, you've always been by my side, through thick and thin. I've never had somebody care for me as much before as you do now. And..." Here he broke off into stutters.

She smiled softly, and turned herself to face him. "I have always cared for you. You're right. And you've been there for me too, through everything, and you were always there to save us. To save me." Here she smiled, and gazed imploringly at him to continue.

He gulped, tugged at the collar of his shirt, and continued. "Yeah. And, ever s-since you held me in your arms that day, and I saw your eyes, how they sparkled like clear ocean barely rippled by a slight breeze, misted by aquamarine fog, and lit by a splash of sunlight... oh, um, oh no." He looked frustrated now, and started mumbling to himself, frantically wringing his hands. Katara lightly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. She was feeling dizzy herself, and was just as crimson as he was.

"Thank you. That was beautiful. And I've always loved the way you are, you're so soft-spoken, you're clean, you're clever, and you never get angry unless someone you love is in danger. And _your _eyes. It's like I'm seeing my own sadness in them, they're so gray, yet they twinkle in happiness whenever I look at them, and I feel better myself, because I know that though all the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and you're responsible for so many people without being asked, and that you'll always be there with Sokka, Toph, and I. I hope you never leave us. I hope you never leave me."

"I won't." Aang now shifted so he sat right in front of her. Sokka and Toph hung by great fistfuls of Appa's hair below, listening, and were hugging each other for laughter and happiness. Toph just once had had to threaten Sokka

when he almost started teasing the pair again, but now he was content to sit and listen, feeling happier than he ever had before for his sister.

"Katara? I know this will probably come out wrong, but, after all this time I've known you, and all the time we've spent together, I've always been happy when you were by my side. I've always enjoyed looking at you. You're so beautiful, especially when you Bend, and I never want to leave you and I never want you to leave me." They were both shaking with anticipation, and Toph had let out a soft "Boo-yah!" below and pecked Sokka on the cheek. Aang felt that it was now, the perfect time, or never, to tell her the truth. "I hope this sounds right, but, I, I like you, as, well, more than a friend." His heart was pounding now. "I love you, Katara." He flinched slightly at these last words, glowing red and shaking from head to foot, and looked up at Katara. She seemed stunned.

She had expected those words, yet she was still taken aback with joy at them. Aang, sensing her pause as rejection, suddenly lost the last bit of composure he had. Hot tears immediately spilled out of his eyes. "I-i-it's okay if you d-don't feel the same way." He was hiccupping between every word now. "I probably should never have started this conversation..." His world was a blur of color. The one girl in his life, that he loved more dearly than anyone could imagine, didn't love him back. _I've got nothing left to live for._

Katara realized what she had done, and retaliated immediately, her heart pounding. This was it. She had unintentionally broken the little guy's heart. "Aang!" He looked up. "I love you too." The Avatar did a sort of double take, passed his hand in front of his face, then gasped, and leapt into her arms.

"Yeah!" He sat and hugged her for some minutes, beaming happily, then suddenly lifted her into his arms and sprang twenty feet into the air. Meanwhile, Sokka and Toph had climbed up Appa's side and were crying in each other's arms. Aang landed lightly back onto Appa's saddle, and beamed at Katara. To know that this girl loved him, and cared for him, and felt for him, as much as he did for her, made his heart leap with joy. His best friend, his main source of help and reassurance throughout all of his journeys, loved him back. He felt the warm, happy sensation creep throughout his entire body, and he swelled with happiness. Suddenly Toph reached out and pushed the back of his head ever so slightly, so that his lips met Katara's, and as they stayed like that for what seemed like hours, locked in a loving, passionate embrace, then sat side by side in each other's arms, keeping each other warm, he concluded that one needn't be an Airbender or have a glider to fly.

WHOOOT! FANFIC #1 DONE! Rate and REVIEW PLEASE!

FLUFF ROCKS! Hint: next fanfic is Aang's POV of Katara, while the group is joined by unlikely allies. Oooh, and look around all the Kataang fics, in one there is proved the point that since Aang is the last Airbender, he has to break the rules and have kids, or else the cycle will be broken when the Avatar is due in the Airbenders. And who better to have a little Airbender with than Katara!


End file.
